


Wildflowers

by foxxlight



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Injury, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mentions of Heavy themes, Slow Burn, Werewolves, Wolf Pack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:14:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24049522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxxlight/pseuds/foxxlight
Summary: Sehun had been pining after Yixing for long enough to accept the fact that they'd never be anything more than friends. So he was fine when he found out Yixing was courting someone. Well — maybe not fine but he'd move on eventually. He'd just have to wait until his heart stopped aching.
Relationships: Oh Sehun/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay
Comments: 11
Kudos: 136
Collections: CASE–94: Round One





	Wildflowers

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the first round of Case-94 fest for Oh Sehun! 
> 
> I stepped a bit out of my comfort zone for this one (I always avoid writing Yixing as a main character because I never do him justice) so I hope you enjoy it! Originally this was supposed to be a modern setting abo but when I tried writing it that way it didn't turn out so I went a more traditional route. And the social commentary just kind of sneaked its way in there, oops lol

The breeze that ruffled Sehun’s hair was gentle, carrying the scent of the flowers from the surrounding field. He was sitting at the edge of the stream, pants rolled up so they wouldn’t get wet as he dipped his feet in the water. It was just past midday at that point, the sun’s warmth bearing down on the back of his neck. It was nearing summer, but not so close that the weather had turned unbearably hot. He wanted to enjoy his favorite part of the year as much as he could before the weather turned. 

About fifteen feet behind him, at the edge of the forest which petered off into the field of flowers Sehun currently sat within, the rustling of undergrowth noticeably broke the calm quiet of afternoon. The faint smell of apples and cinnamon reached his nose on the breeze.

A few minutes later the large form of his best friend came into his peripheral view as he took a seat beside him, cross-legged to avoid touching the water. “Thought I’d find you here.”

Sehun didn’t give much of a response, just leaned forward a little to let his fingertips drag across the water’s surface. He liked the river better because he could watch the fish but the whole pack used it, meaning he’d never get any peace. The flowers were a nice consolation, though. 

“You didn’t forget you’re on kitchen duty tonight right? If someone has to come looking for you you’re never going to hear the end of it, y’know.” He wasn’t put off by Sehun’s lack of response. They’d been best friends practically since Sehun joined the pack.

“I didn’t forget,” Sehun confirmed as he flicked droplets of water from his fingertips. “It’s only an hour and a half’s walk back to packgrounds; half if I go in wolf-shape.”

The two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence, Sehun staring off into the field while his friend laid back in the grass with his eyes closed, legs still crossed in what could only be an uncomfortable position. A small bird hopped around in the grass on the opposite side of the stream, somewhat close until Sehun’s voice spooked it into flight.

“You didn’t come here to ask me whether I remembered my duties or not, Chanyeol.”

“I didn’t really come here to ask you anything,” Chanyeol replied without opening his eyes, a lazy grin on his lips. 

“You’re full of shit.” Sehun’s words were harsh but his tone and face remained as impassive as they’d been before. 

Chanyeol peeled his eyes open and squinted as he got an eyeful of the sun, coming back up into his previous sitting position. His grin widened into a full blown smile when, after he’d reached into the stream to wet his fingers and flick the remaining water into Sehun’s face, he was glared at in response.

“Okay, so maybe I came to check up on you but — don’t even say anything, just hear me out. Please,” he tacked on at the end when Sehun’s glare increased in intensity. “I know you don’t need me to give you some big speech or take care of you like you’re a pup. But you’ve been my best friend, _my brother_ , for thirteen years and that means something so don’t tell me not to look out for you.”

Chanyeol was huffing a little at the end of mini-speech, and it was so characteristic of him to get riled up over something so small. Sehun had to fight a little smile from curling the corners of his lips as fondness warmed his chest.

“Are you done yet?” Despite managing to keep his face impassive, his voice gave away his amusement, which only riled Chanyeol up more.

“No, and stop laughing! It’s common courtesy to at least pretend to take a person seriously when they’re trying to have a heart-to-heart with you.” 

“Common courtesy? Didn’t know you knew what that meant,” he snarked back. The smug look on his face had Chanyeol shoving him over with a playful growl. Sehun was determined to win though, so he kicked his feet up and out of the water as he fell onto his side. Judging by the shout that followed immediately after, he’d succeeded in getting Chanyeol wet.

“You’re so annoying,” Chanyeol complained, grabbing Sehun’s outstretched arm to help him off the ground. “I did laundry this morning so all my other clothes are still drying and I don’t have anything to change into.”

Sehun rolled his eyes. “You’re barely even wet, don’t be a baby. Besides, I’m sure your _Alphas_ wouldn’t mind if you hung around the house without anything on.”

“They’re not even here. They left with a hunting party right before I came to find you.” Ever the dramaqueen, he pouted. Sehun could understand though; their relationship was new and the three of them hadn’t had a day off all together in a while. Hunting wasn’t an assigned job either, usually the Head Alpha just asked someone who was free to round people up if they needed more food. 

“Kyungsoo is always trying to help out the pack, that’s just the kind of alpha he is. Try not to take it personally ‘Yeol,” Sehun replied with a frown, bumping his shoulder with his friends. 

“I know, that was one of the things that attracted me to him.” Chanyeol was smiling as he said it so Sehun figured things between them were probably fine. “But why’d Jongin have to go too y’know? It’s like they do _everything_ together.”

Sehun stared blankly at Chanyeol for a minute. “Yeah. Because they’re _mates_. That’s kind of what they’re supposed to do.”  
“Not all mates are up each other’s asses all the time Sehun. My parents spend a perfectly healthy amount of time apart. In fact, I feel like it’s unrealistic for mates to always be together. Life isn’t one of those stories the elders tell about mates destined by the stars to fight thousands of wolves just to be together.”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry, I was just making a joke. I didn’t mean to upset you,” Sehun said placatingly as he stepped in front of his friend and lightly patted his shoulders. “Are you really upset about how much time Kyungsoo and Jongin spend together?

When he’d started on his rant he seemed to be teeming with energy but as soon as Sehun asked that question he deflated, shoulders drooping as if there was suddenly something heavy weighing them down. Sehun’s heart ached at the sight and he hated how powerless he was to help. Standing before him was such a beautiful and strong omega, a caring friend who’d come to comfort him despite the fact that he was having a hard time himself. Sehun wished he could offer more than solidarity.

“I’m not upset. There’s no way I could be. I mean it’s like you said; they’re mates. And they were mates before I came along. They have their own dynamic and they’re entitled to that. I don’t even want to come between that —why would I? I like seeing them happy and spending time together, and they treat me so well, too. But it’s still new y’know? And, I don’t know, maybe I’m having trouble seeing my place in everything.”

Sehun narrowed his eyes, reaching out to grip Chanyeol’s shoulders tightly. “Hey. Look at me,” he said firmly and waited until his eyes raised from his feet. “Don’t let their bullshit poison your mind Chanyeol. You literally tried to give me this speech not even twenty minutes ago and it doesn’t apply to just me, alright? You remember what they said when Kyungsoo and Jongin started courting? When they _claimed_ each other? They were full of nasty comments. Now that you’ve entered their hearts the winds have changed and now they’ve got nasty comments about you. 

"It’s always been bullshit though. You and I both know it. Kyungsoo, Jongin, your parents, they know it too. There are so many traditionalist assholes in this pack that can’t have their way thanks to the Head Alpha being as open minded as she is. So they’re going to talk and talk but that doesn’t make them right. Kyungsoo and Jongin are both alphas, yeah. But they’ve never had anything but genuine love for each other and that’s why they’re mates. And they’d never lie to you and invite you into their relationship, court you to be their _mate_ , just so that they could have pups. So fuck whatever anyone has to say about your relationship because what do random pack members know about it? This pack has like a hundred wolves in it, we don’t all know each other’s lives. Gossip is gossip, that’s all.”

As Sehun spoke he could see how Chanyeol’s lips started to quiver and his eyes started filling up with tears but he knew he needed to push on. As much as Chanyeol thought Sehun needed to hear that people’s talk didn’t matter, Chanyeol really needed to hear it too. And once he’d said everything he’d had to say, Sehun pulled his best friend against his body and let him cry as much as he needed to. 

Sehun wasn’t sure how long they stood there, embracing each other and finding comfort in a familial embrace that reminded them of the simplicity of being pups. During that time, Sehun thought about his life, and how he’d come to live in Chanyeol’s pack. Of how he’d been saved by the current Head Alpha, who at the time had been a young woman not yet ready to take over leadership of the pack. He was more grateful than he’d probably ever be able to express. The pack wasn’t perfect, and until the current Head Alpha had taken power it had been pretty traditionalistic, but things were changing with the younger generations and he had hope that one day people like he and Chanyeol wouldn’t have to feel the way they did as they stood there together.

After Chanyeol’s tears had subsided and the pair had taken some time to individually collect themselves, they separated from their embrace and instead linked hands. They returned to the packgrounds in that way, slowly making the trek back through the tree, hand in hand, a silence that was both heavy and yet somehow still peaceful lingering between them. 

By the time they made it back to Kyungsoo and Jongin’s cabin it was late afternoon and Sehun was going to have to head to the kitchen soon to help prepare dinner. He was sure Chanyeol knew too, but neither one of them really wanted to seperate. Sehun especially didn’t want to leave Chanyeol alone, so he allowed himself to be pulled inside by the hand without protest. 

The inside of the cabin smelled strongly of cinnamon and pine, the scent of Chanyeol’s alphas. The scent of apples Sehun had grown up with was more subtle as he’d been living there for a shorter amount of time, but it was noticeably intertwined. Sehun found the three of their combined scents comforting, so he never minded spending time at their cabin. He could even detect his own citrusy scent of oranges in the main room where he and Jongin usually spent their time curled up on the couch. 

The sound of the front door closing behind them announced their presence and brought Jongin out from around the corner Sehun knew led to their bedroom.

“You’re back already?” Chanyeol asked with a small smile. His voice was rough in a combination of disuse and the crying from earlier though, and it had Jongin quickly closing the distance between them in concern. 

“You’ve been crying?” He asked as he shifted his gaze between the two omegas.

Chanyeol looked over at him and the two had a silent conversation. If Chanyeol didn’t want to tell Jongin the reason he’d cried, it wasn’t Sehun’s place. So he covered for him without hesitation.

“Some people were gossiping about me during breakfast and I ran off on my own for most of the day. After you guys left to hunt he came to find me and ended up getting worked up on my behalf,” he was explaining as Kyungsoo came around the same corner Jongin had a few minutes before.

Jongin was still casting his gaze between the two of them as Kyungsoo approached saying, “Sounds like ‘Yeol. I keep telling you to just come here from breakfast, Sehun. You know you’re always welcome.”

Sehun shrugged and gave Kyungsoo a small smile. “The mornings are for you guys, I don’t mind eating with the pack. Besides, it’s not like everyone here gossips about me. Just sometimes it gets in my head.”

“We really wouldn’t mind though,” Jongin added with a frown in Sehun’s direction. Ever since they’d started courting Chanyeol they’d been nothing but kind towards him as well. Although he never said it, he hoped they knew how appreciative he was to have them as friends. 

“At least come over sometimes,” Chanyeol joined in, tugging on the hand that still held Sehun’s. “I don’t want you to feel lonely now that I eat at home so much.”

Sehun sighed and pretended to be annoyed as he pulled his hand free. “You’re practically mated and you still can’t leave me alone.” He clicked his tongue teasingly and then laughed as Chanyeol shoved him onto the couch. “Seriously though, I’m good. I’ve been eating with Junmyeon lately.”

“ _Junmyeon_? As in Head Alpha’s _son_ Junmyeon?” Chanyeol squawked, practically throwing himself down on top of Sehun. “But doesn’t that mean you’ve been eating with —”

“Secrets Chanyeol,” Sehun said loudly in an attempt to cut him off. His eyes moved over Chanyeol’s shoulder to see Kyungsoo and Jongin looking at them in amusement. 

“Sorry to disappoint you Sehun but he told us about your crush a while ago,” Kyungsoo smirked as he strode over to the chair next to the couch and took a seat.

Sehun groaned, shooting a glare at Chanyeol who was still on top of him looking sheepish. He was glad, not for the first time, that he was good at controlling his facial expressions. Looking as embarrassed as he felt in that moment would’ve sucked. 

“I have to go. I have kitchen duty,” Sehun opted to say instead of continuing their previous line of conversation.

Chanyeol let him sit up but didn’t let him get off the couch immediately, making a face at him like a pup who did something wrong and wanted to be forgiven without apologizing. “You’re not mad right? Because I feel like mates are excluded from the ‘don’t tell anyone my secrets’ best friend agreement.”

Sehun reached out and grasped the collar of Chanyeol’s shirt, pulling it to the side to expose his neck. “Weird because I don’t see any claiming bites.” He shifted the shirt to expose the other shoulder. “None there either.”

Jongin leaned over the back of the couch and laid a hand on Chanyeol’s thigh, the smirk on his face alluding to what he was about to say. “Maybe you’re just not looking in the right places Sehunnie.”

Chanyeol started laughing along with Jongin while Sehun pushed himself off the couch with an eye roll directed at Kyungsoo, who shared the same sentiment. Jongin and Chanyeol could be really annoying sometimes.

“You started it with the whole ‘where’s your mating bite’ crap!” Chanyeol said once his laughter died down. Which was true so Sehun chose to ignore him.

“See you guys later,” he waved as he headed back out the door, heading down the path that would lead him to the center of the packgrounds. 

🌼

The calling of a bird pulled Sehun from his nap, eyes blinking open to early afternoon sun. He laid there for a second or two, listening to the sounds around him. Another bird call, the buzzing of a nearby bee, water flowing down the stream. Combined with his post nap haze, his surroundings had him feeling truly at peace. In that moment he felt like he could lay there for hours and be content, the rest of the world and his life inconsequential. 

The rumbling of his stomach broke the peace; the uncomfortable feeling of hunger warming his stomach unpleasantly. He sat up from among the grass and flowers of the field where he’d been resting and attempted to rub the cloudiness of sleep from his vision. 

He’d come to the field straight from his shift preparing breakfast, his morning meal consisting only of a piece of bread he could eat on the walk. He hated having the breakfast shift because it meant being awake before dawn and Sehun preferred to sleep in until at least mid morning no matter what time he went to bed. Baekhyung had been on shift too and he was the annoying kind of wolf that was happy and talkative no matter what time of day it was.

The early morning, the work of preparing breakfast, and the annoyance Baekhyun had filled him with by refusing to catch the hint that he wanted to work in silence meant that as soon as Sehun had settled down in the field to relax, his eyes had slipped closed as sleep pulled him under. He couldn’t remember his dream, but he’d felt too peaceful upon waking for it to have been anything other than happy.

After he felt like he’d shaken off as much of his nap as he’d be able to he rose to his feet, reaching down to brush the scraps of grass that clung to his pants. Given that he’d been fully submerged in the plants he figured it was a lost cause and gave up once he’d picked off the largest pieces.

Sehun made the walk back through the woods in his human-shape despite how hungry he felt. He liked feeling the dirt and grass beneath his human feet, liked how he could run his hand across the rough bark of the trees he passed. His sense of smell was relatively the same in both forms, same for his hearing, so the experience still encompassed the things he enjoyed most about being by himself amongst nature. The added bonus of the human sensation of touch was usually what swayed Sehun to remain standing on two legs.

It turned out that the walk back was the calm before the storm. He could tell before even stepping foot within the kitchen that many of his packmates were also having lunch. Their laughter and voices filtered out through the open windows, the tables outside of the cabin all filled with others enjoying the warmth. Briefly he considered waiting until people began emptying out, but he was hungry and hadn’t eaten a real meal yet that day so he decided to suck it up. Maybe if he was lucky one of his friends would be inside.

The scent of food and his pack mingled heavily as he pushed through the door and stepped inside. The voices increased in volume as there were no longer wooden walls separating him from the noise, making Sehun hope he wouldn’t leave with a headache. Maybe he should’ve gone to Chanyeol’s instead. 

He queued up in the relatively short line of those waiting to move along the buffet table to choose food, his height coming in handy as he was able to see over everyone’s heads and decide what he wanted ahead of time. Upon seeing the baked potatoes he got excited and ended up loading three onto his plate, which he felt he could justify since they weren’t very big to begin with. He tossed some salad elements onto the plate next and finished making his plate by fixing a simple sandwich before stepping off to the side to scout for a place to sit.

There were a couple options available but seeing who would be sitting around him had him continuing his search in the hopes of a more peaceful meal. He’d rather not sit by the loud teenagers eating by the door, and sitting beside a group of elders seemed awkward, especially considering he didn’t know them personally. 

As his eyes moved to scan the tables by the doors leading into the room where the cooking equipment was he noticed someone waving a hand in the air. Following the waving hand down to the face of the wolf waving it confirmed what Sehun had thought; _he_ was being waved at. It was one of the best outcomes he could’ve hoped for, so he didn’t waste time hesitating before striding over and taking the empty seat across from his savior.

“I thought I was going to end up having to choose between elder gossip or teenage hormones,” Sehun offered as a greeting.

“Luckily I was here then, huh?” His friend laughed, tone affectionate.

“You’re my hero Junmyeon,” Sehun said solemnly, placing a hand over his heart. 

“Wow ‘Myeon, you really _do_ have all the omegas swooning,” another voice joined in on the joke as they sat down in front of the plate that had been sitting beside Junmyeon. 

Junmyeon rolled his eyes, pointing his chopsticks at his best friend’s face. “Yeah, I think you’re confusing me with yourself there, ‘Xing.”

“Someone still can’t take a compliment.” Yixing shook his head, feigning the disappointed look of a parent. Then to Sehun he said, “I’m worried he’ll never find a mate at this rate.”

Thankfully Sehun didn’t have to respond because Junmyeon was quick to cut the joke off there, face completely red. “Okay that’s enough of your jokes about being my dad. What a weirdo.”

Yixing’s resulting laugh was complete with shaking shoulders and smiling eyes. He covered the side of his mouth next to Junmyeon with his hand and pretending to whisper over at Sehun; “He’s just embarrassed because rumor has it Minseok’s making him a courting gift.”

“Quit it!” Junmyeon shouted, face even redder than before as he delivered three successive smacks to the alpha’s shoulder. Sehun kind of wanted to point out that it wasn’t really a secret, he’d heard that rumor last week when word had first spread. Everyone around their age knew about it, if not the whole pack. Gossip tended to spread like fire.

“I don’t see why you’re so shy about it. You and Minseok have been dancing around each other for over a year at this point. And that’s not even counting the fact that you’ve had a crush on him practically since you were a pup.”

“We didn’t even really know each other until I came of age and started going on hunts. And having a crush is perfectly normal and you should go find one for yourself and stop bothering me about mine,” he huffed back.

Yixing smirked. “Who says I don’t have one already?”

Up until that point Sehun had been amused watching the two of them banter, enjoying being able to eat with someone without having to necessarily be involved in any conversation that was happening. Hearing Yixing allude to having a crush made him wish he’d decided to wait and avoid the crowds. He didn’t want to be forced to sit there silently while the alpha he’s liked for years goes on about someone else. The thought made him sick to his stomach, enough even to make him feel like the food he’d eaten so far would come up if he tried to take another bite. 

Of course Sehun knew he had no chance with Yixing, he wasn’t an idiot. Yixing was the kind of alpha that everyone wanted to know, whether it be as friends or more — and Sehun was _far >/i> from the only wolf who wanted more. The alpha was just too alluring, practically the fucking sun. Both his parents held high ranking jobs within the pack, which meant he received a lot of trust and respect of his own, even from those older than him. The fact that he was also incredibly handsome and probably the kindest person Sehun had ever met meant that he didn’t have a shortage of suitors. He could have anyone he wanted, but until that moment Sehun had never gotten any indication there was anyone._

_The two of them weren’t that close, and Yixing, for all the kindness he gave, was relatively private about his personal matters, but Sehun thought he’d have known if there was someone. Due to Sehun’s situation when he’d first arrived at the pack, he’d been under the care of Yixing’s mom, and ever since then they’d always been on each other’s radar as something resembling friends. Lately Sehun had been hanging out with Junmyeon too, and those two were a packaged deal similar to he and Chanyeol, so he felt like he would’ve at least seen signs._

_He must’ve zoned out, caught up in his own spiraling thoughts because suddenly Junmyeon’s hand was waving in his face. “Earth to Sehun? You okay?”_

_Sehun swallowed hard, reaching out for his cup of water. After two long drinks he felt like he could speak without giving away any of his feelings. “Yeah, sorry. Zoned out thinking about the summer festival.”_

_“The festival?” Junmyeon leaned back in his seat, brows wrinkled. “That’s not for a while still. What made you think of that?”_

_Sehun bit his lip, glancing over at Yixing who was also waiting for his answer. It hadn’t been a complete lie; Yixing had been making him think of the summer festival practically since it had gotten warm. It was like this every year for him, but he couldn’t really tell that to anyone but Chanyeol._

_“Yixing mentioned Minseok’s courting gift for you and it made me think about how Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, and Jongin will probably have their mating celebration at the festival.”_

_“Isn’t that kind of traditional, though? I didn’t think that was their style.” Junmyeon’s voice was hesitant, like he was worried he’d be saying the wrong thing by bringing up how unconventional the relationship was when compared to the tradition of celebrating mating at the festival._

_Yixing nudged his friend light heartedly, shooting a smile over at Sehun. “C’mon, you of all people shouldn’t be thinking of it that way. I know for a fact you’re going to want to celebrate your mating with Minseok too. That’s what made Sehun even think of it in the first place.”_

_Junmyeon started turning red again when Sehun nodded in agreement, secretly grateful that Yixing kept the conversation from turning serious. It’s not that he worried anything rude or judgmental would be said; after all, Junmyeon was a beta on the path to taking over leadership of the pack, and was being courted by an omega — not traditional in any sense. Sehun just hadn't wanted to talk seriously about what comments and drama other members of the pack might stir up._

_“How do we always end up talking about me and Minseok,” he pouted, arms crossed childishly. It made the knots in Sehun’s stomach ease and so he felt brave enough to try finishing his food._

_The rest of lunch passed uneventfully, and he was proud that he’d kept his mind from straying back to Yixing’s mystery crush. When the three of them had parted ways and Sehun found himself alone once again, laying in the field with his eyes closed, if he had images of Yixing giving romantic courting gifts to some pretty, short omega with a disposition sunnier than Yixing’s own running around mockingly in his thoughts, well then that was his own secret._

_🌼_

_Sehun took the four steps leading up onto the cabin’s large front porch two at a time, ducking a bit as he stepped under the sloping portion of the awning. The door was open as it usually was, but he rapped his knuckles against the frame anyway, not wanting to just walk in unannounced. A woman came into view as she stepped around the counter, bowl in hand as she continued mashing something._

_“Sehun,” she smiled warmly, welcoming him in with a wave of her hand. Sehun stepped in and stood by the counter as she continued her work. “What brings you here?”_

_“Mom says her wrists are hurting again.” He’d been referring to Chanyeol’s parents as his own for a long time. They _had_ raised him, after all._

_She raised an eyebrow at him and Sehun could tell by the look on her face that he was about to get scolded. “She’s probably working too much again. You and that alpha of hers should help her out more. And she should really find an apprentice.”_

_Sehun scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, never sure how to properly respond to Yixing’s mom’s scoldings. “You know how she is. Likes to do everything herself, says she’s not that old that she needs to train someone else to take over.”_

_She hums, not sounding convinced in the slightest. “Well, have _you_ thought about what you might like to do? There’s nothing wrong with not training for a specialty, the moon knows there aren’t enough of those to go around in a pack this size. But most of the time the pups take over for their parents and if you showed an interest she might be more inclined to relax.”_

_Sehun thought about telling her the truth; the thing he’s most interested to learn is healing, and it’s all thanks to her. But Yixing has been training to take over from his mom for years, and Sehun didn’t think he could handle seeing so much of the person he one-sidedly wanted. She was probably right anyway. Chanyeol’s mom _was_ stubborn but it was probably only half that she didn’t want to retire. The other half was more than likely that she was hoping Sehun would take up the mantle. _

_“I… don’t really know where I’m meant to be right now,” he finally settled on. Yixing’s mom had a sharp tongue, tended to not mince words regardless of who she spoke to, but she was great at listening. Many people in the pack came to her for advice, but Sehun always kept things to himself around her. She wasn’t the sort to gossip anyone’s business but she was Yixing mom and well, that made him uneasy._

_She’d stopped working on whatever she’d been doing when Sehun had first arrived in order to get what Chanyeol’s mom would need together. “Well, you’re young. But _not_ freshly come of age.” She looked up and gave him an understanding look to soften her previous statement. “I know it’s hard, I was there at one point too. Y’know, I left my birth-pack and my family’s generations long specialty behind in order to be with my mate. So in some ways I understand your position better than probably anyone else. If you’re still thinking or you really don’t want to take over for Mrs. Park, that’s okay. You need to do what feels right.”_

_As she finished speaking she handed over a small bundle of herbs, which Sehun took with a slight bow. “Thank you,” he murmured, and in that moment he wasn’t sure which thing he was thanking her for. She didn’t seem to mind as she smiled, dimples appearing similar to Yixing’s, as she pushed him out the door and reminded him to look after Mrs. Park._

_A few feet from the steps to the healer’s cabin Sehun ran into Yixing and an omega having a conversation. The omega had her back to Sehun, but Yixing, who was facing him, noticed right away and seemed to cut whatever the woman was saying off mid-sentence._

_“Hey, Sehun. Been to see my mom?” He asked without physically leaving the conversation he’d been having. Sehun got the sense by way of Yixing’s smile that he was only being polite to the woman. It wasn’t his usual relaxed smile by a longshot._

_Nodding, Sehun held up the bundle of herbs. “Came to get these.”_

_“That means you’re headed back home, right?” When Sehun nodded Yixing gave the omega an apologetic smile as he stepped around her. She turned her body to keep Yixing in her sight, giving Sehun a view of her pretty face. “Sorry to cut this short but there’s actually something I need to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Park about so I’ll head back with Sehun.”_

_“Oh sure, no problem. I’ll talk to you later, Yixing,” she smiled up at him, hands fiddling with her skirt._

_Yixing gave her one of his polite, formal smiles that Sehun had seen him use before on some of the older packmates who disagreed with Yixing’s views during debates at pack meetings. “Sehun, if you wouldn’t mind waiting a minute I just have to go get something from my mom.”_

_Sehun nodded, allowing Yixing to rush off without complaint. It left him alone with the omega whose name he didn’t know. He was pretty sure she’d recently come of age. At the very least, she looked similar to one of the omegas who’d had her ceremony a few months back._

_Sehun expected her to leave now that Yixing was gone but she didn’t. Instead she stepped closer to him and leveled him with a look completely different than the one she’d been giving the alpha a minute ago._

_“I’ve seen you with Yixing a lot lately,” she started, arms crossed under her breasts. “You seem to show up everywhere.”_

_He could see where this conversation was going and he was already tired of it. She wasn’t the only one who felt he didn’t belong in the pack. It made him sad to see younger wolves holding on to the old traditions but what could he say. People were entitled to think what they wanted so long as they weren’t physical about it. He wished he didn’t have to get attacked about it, though._

_“We have mutual friends.” Then he decided that what he’d said sounded like something someone making excuses would say so he added, “We’re friends”_

_She scoffed. “Right. Anyway, you should give up your hopeless pining. Yixing is the most desireable alpha around our age group, there’s no way _you_ of all people would stand a chance of winning him.”_

_“He’s not an item to be won — which I’m not even trying to do.” He made sure to keep his face and tone neutral so she didn’t think she was getting to him. He’d learned a while ago that it bothered them when he seemed unaffected by their insults._

_Once again it didn’t seem like she believed him, eyes now glaring intently up at him. But then again, he guessed that reason was beyond a nasty person who had to attack others to make themselves feel good._

_“You’re a freakishly, too-tall omega who isn’t even _from _here. You’re not from _anywhere_. You’re just the charity case of this pack, so you should learn not to overstep your bounds and be grateful for all you’ve gotten from us so far.”___

___Sehun could smell Yixing’s honey scent on the breeze toward the end of her rant. A few seconds later he was stepping up beside Sehun with a look on his face that the omega had never seen before. He didn’t look _angry_ per se, just kind of distant. And the coldness to his voice as he shot a quick response back at the girl who’d been insulting Sehun made his inner wolf tremble. Yixing wasn’t using alpha dominance, that was forbidden, but it somehow felt like he was._ _ _

___“Maybe you should consider what bounds _you_ are overstepping. Sehun is a fully initiated member of this pack, your personal feelings are irrelevant. You can feel however you want but it’s rude to say that sort of thing, and you wouldn’t like it if anyone said that kind of thing to you. If you don’t like him, stay away from him. I’m sure that’d make you _both_ happy.”_ _ _

___She stood there in shock, mouth opening and closing as she fumbled for words. All she managed was a “Yixing —” before the alpha was gently tugging Sehun’s arm in the direction of the Park’s cabin._ _ _

___When they were a few steps away he paused, turning his body halfway around again. “Oh, and one more thing. I don’t like wolves who feel they’re entitled because of their birth status, whether that status lies within the pack or outside of it. I _especially_ don’t like it when those wolves aim to hurt my friends and family. So do me a favor and stay away from me too.”_ _ _

___Then Yixing turned back around and started walking again, moving a quickened pace but always making sure Sehun was able to keep pace. They walked along together in silence for a few minutes, Sehun wanting to give the alpha time to cool off. He’d never seen Yixing get so heated before. In comparison to other alphas in the pack, what he’d said had been relatively mild but it was still pretty out of character. Even when Sehun has witnessed him debating, borderline arguing albeit politely, with older members of the pack, he’d never been the way he was when he was telling that omega off. Sehun felt touched, but felt thanking Yixing wouldn’t be the right thing to do._ _ _

___“Are you okay, Yixing?” He settled on asking, making sure his question sounded relaxed, unpressuring._ _ _

___Yixing let out a heavy sigh, sounding as if he’d expelled every breath of air in his lungs. “Yeah, sorry about that. Honestly I just couldn’t take it anymore. I’ve been listening to wolves gossip and say bad things about Junmyeon all his life. Over the _stupidest_ things too. And I hate being faced with the truth that no matter how accepting the wolves I surround myself with are, there’s so many more in this pack, probably in the world, who are stuck in the past, unwilling to see the beauty before them.”_ _ _

___It was probably just the right place at the right time, and Yixing wasn’t saying all this to Sehun specifically, but still he wanted to handle the alpha’s feelings with care. What he’d said earlier had been true; he wasn’t trying to persuade Yixing to fall in love with him or anything of the sort. The reasons he liked Yixing weren’t so shallow that he’d only accept being his mate. If they could keep being friends, if they could become _closer_ friends, that wouldn’t make him unhappy._ _ _

___“I don’t know if you remember this but, when I first came here I couldn’t shift. I was stuck in my wolf-shape — your mom said it was because of the trauma. At first I didn’t realize, I didn’t know anything about packs. Just your family and the Head Alpha really saw me. But once I was healed and was able to walk around the packgrounds, I could hear the things being said about me. It wasn’t even about my past or how I’d come to the pack at that time, it was about the color of my coat.”_ _ _

___While he’d been talking their walking pace had slowed down until they were just standing on the path. Thankfully they’d taken the path along the outer edges of the packgrounds, meaning they were near the forest’s edge and there wasn’t much chance of anyone coming by._ _ _

___“Everyone here has shades of darker brown fur, but yours is light tan,” Yixing acknowledged, keeping his eyes on Sehun’s face as he patiently waited for him to continue._ _ _

___“Up until then I still hadn’t been able to shift but I was young and scared, in a place I didn’t understand without my parents and people were saying things about the way I looked and — I guess I got so upset that I ran off and forced the shift. I don’t really remember what happened, just waking up with your mom at my side. After that I didn’t want to turn into my wolf-shape anymore. I was a kid, so I thought if I looked the same as everyone else and didn’t let them see I was actually different they’d accept me.”_ _ _

___Yixing frowned at him and opened his mouth, probably to protest, but Sehun didn’t let him. “That’s bullshit though. I figured that out pretty quick. People don’t want to let you pretend you’re the same as they are once they’ve decided you’re not. Even though the truth is that we’re not really all that different to begin with. Wolves are wolves. Yeah, we’re different but we all love, laugh, cry, we all want to see the people we care about safe. Chanyeol’s mom used to go out into the forest with me and we’d run together in wolf-shape. She made me realize that there would be wolves who could see the truth, and that I just needed to hold them close.”_ _ _

___“That’s…” Yixing trailed off, unable to find the right words._ _ _

___“Easier said than done. I know,” Sehun laughed, and it was genuine. “Your mom and the Head Alpha saved my life, and the Parks gave me a family. So in spite of what happened, what people say about me even now, I’m really grateful to be where I am. To be _who_ I am.” Sehun bit his lip, suddenly feeling shy as he realized he’d sort of ranted on about himself in an attempt to show Yixing he related to his frustration. _ _ _

___“Um,” he said awkwardly, looking away from Yixing’s face. “Basically what I wanted to say was that it sucks and it’s not right, but still I don’t think life is all that bad. And wolves like us, and our friends and family, we just have to keep going so we can show everyone else that there’s a support system. People can and will care. But also that I get it if you sort of want to rip their throats out because I feel that way when people say things about Chanyeol. Metaphorically, I mean. Murder is bad.”_ _ _

___Yixing laughed with his whole body, shoulders shaking, eyes smiling, all the negativity from earlier completely lost. It made Sehun feel warmth bloom in his chest. Seems like he’d done what he’d meant to, even if it was a bit clumsy._ _ _

___“I’m glad too, Sehun. That you’re happy here, and that I know it’s not me against the world. I guess that was a bit dramatic of me to imply,” he laughed sheepishly._ _ _

___Sehun shook his head, indicating that they should start back toward their destination again. “No, I get it, I think. Sometimes I feel that way too. Even though I know there are wolves here who care about me, it can get overwhelming sometimes. I actually regret that Junmyeon and I weren’t really friends until a few months ago. But it’s a better late than never type of thing, right?”_ _ _

___“My mom likes to say things happen the way the moon wants them to. Maybe it’s a little childish of me to think so, but I find the thought comforting whether it’s true or not.” Yixing shrugged._ _ _

___Sehun glanced over at him for a second, eyes scanning the profile of his face as he considered the alpha’s words. “I like that. It’s lonely to think that everyone is just coincidences and consequences.”_ _ _

___Yixing hummed but gave no other response, allowing a comfortable silence to settle over the remainder of their walk to the Park’s cabin. When they reached the front door Sehun paused, hand resting on the handle as he turned to Yixing in confusion._ _ _

___“Wait, did you really have business with the Parks?”_ _ _

___Yixing grinned, motioning for Sehun to go inside. “I did, but the rest is a secret.”_ _ _

___Sehun wanted to press more, but it seemed like it’d be pointless so he just shrugged, pushing his curiosity down. He’d never be able to get anything out of Mrs. Park about their conversation no matter how much he begged, but Mr. Park might be willing to spill the details. Then again, he didn’t really want to pry into Yixing’s personal business, regardless of how his light teasing seemed to indicate it wasn’t anything serious._ _ _

___“Okay well just so you know, if you ditch your mom to become Mrs. Park’s apprentice, she's going to blame it on me and I think she’d probably kill me so maybe just keep that in mind.”_ _ _

___Yixing snorted as they stepped inside, grin infectious as Sehun couldn’t help but return the gesture. “You tower over her, if she tries anything you can crush her like a bug.”_ _ _

___“Your mom’s tough Yixing; I don’t know if that would be enough.”_ _ _

___Yixing was still grinning as he leaned the side of his body into Sehun’s, nudging him teasingly in a similar way that Chanyeol would do. “Guess I’ll just have to protect you then.”_ _ _

___Sehun felt like maybe his heart stopped._ _ _

___🌼_ _ _

___Sehun huffed, unable to shake the aggravation that had been swirling around inside of him since that morning. He’d had an awful day; one of those ones that start off bad and only gets worse and worse as the day goes on. First, he’d overslept and been late for his breakfast shift in the kitchens, which meant the rest of the time he was there he got the worst, most annoying tasks assigned to him. It had been a long couple of hours and all he’d wanted to do was plant face first into his bed and take a nap. But when he’d gotten home Mrs. Park asked him to go pick up some things that she needed for something big she was working on, which she refused to tell him the details of. He ended up lugging a heavy wooden box full of mystery items all the way across packgrounds, returning drenched in sweat._ _ _

___That’s how he got in his current position at the bank of the stream. He’d always hated the sticky feeling of dried sweat on his skin, but he also didn’t like going to river midday due to the crowds. The stream in the wildflower field was also deep enough to bathe in, and, as Sehun was the only one who ever went there due to its distance from the packgrounds, he’d be able to relax. A bath to himself after the stressful day he’d been having was sure to calm him down, except for the fact that apparently he wasn’t even allowed to have that._ _ _

___Sehun had arrived and stripped himself of his clothing, splashing into the waist deep water with a sigh. The first part of his bath had been exactly what he’d wanted; peaceful. After he felt satisfied that he’d no longer feel sticky with sweat, he rose from the water and decided to walk along through the water, explore a bit._ _ _

___He’d waded through the water, moving away from his usual spot but not far enough to lose sight of his clothes, enjoying the coolness of the water on his lower half while also basking in the warmth of the sun, hoping his hair would dry fast so the wet strands would stop falling into his eyes._ _ _

___When Sehun started feeling pruny and his upper half was mostly dry, he turned around to head back to his clothes, ready to dry off completely and maybe take that nap. As he was making his way back down the stream something moving in the field caught his eyes, distracting him enough that he stepped right onto a jagged rock he’d noticed when he’d been by the first time._ _ _

___He didn’t even have time to curse as the pain shot up his leg, radiating from the bottom of his foot. Instinctively he jerked his leg up in pain, meaning all of his weight shifted onto his left leg. Unprepared and standing in a body of moving water, Sehun found himself crashing into the stream. He’d put his hands out to break his fall but he still hit the bottom on the stream hard enough to knock the breath from his lungs._ _ _

___His entire right leg felt like it was on fire, eyes squeezed shut in pain as he forced himself back to the surface where he could cling to the bank of the stream and eventually haul himself back onto land. He was still a few feet from his clothes, but if he wanted to get there he’d need to crawl. After he’d gotten out of the water he’d been able to see why his leg hurt so bad._ _ _

___The bottom of his foot was cut open in what looked like a pretty deep gash, blood flowing freely from the wound. But that wasn’t his only wound. When he’d lost his balance and fallen he must have cut his leg on the same rock because there was a longer, albeit less deep-looking wound also bleeding._ _ _

___He lay there, extremely annoyed, nearly to the point of tears. He felt so frustrated; nothing had gone right all day and all he’d wanted was to take a bath in peace, away from the rest of the pack. Now he laid there, probably pretty badly wounded, and he didn’t have a way to help himself._ _ _

___After he lamented for a minute or two he sat back up, knowing he couldn't lay there and wallow. He definitely couldn’t walk on his leg, but he was miles away from the packgrounds. He was miles away from any potential help. The only person who knew to look for him there was Chanyeol, and there was no guarantee he’d come looking until his parents started to worry because Sehun hadn’t returned. That wouldn’t be until after dusk at the very least, and for all he knew he would’ve bled out by then._ _ _

____Take it one step at a time_ , Sehun told himself in an attempt to keep the panic welling up inside him at bay. If he panicked, he’d only make the situation worse. So, gritting his teeth, he shifted up onto his knees, raising his injured right calf and foot off the ground as best he could as he half crawled the few feet of distance between him and his pile of clothes. _ _ _

___Despite how short the distance was, it felt like it took him hours to close the distance. He was covered in blood and soaking wet, all the grass and dirt he came in contact with sticking to his wet skin. His hair was plastered to his face, dripping stream water into his eyes. If his head had been clearer he would’ve worried about breaking his teeth from how hard he was clenching them but in that moment all he could think of was the pain and his destination._ _ _

___Once his clothes were within grabbing distance he wanted to collapse on the ground, already feeling exhausted, but he knew if he stopped it’d be harder to get moving again. Grasping on tightly to his resolve, he pulled the clothes closer to him and managed to get them on. The pants were loose fitting but it still hurt to pull them over his legs. Distantly he thought of how Mrs. Park had made them for his birthday and now they were ruined, stained by his blood._ _ _

___Sehun’s next problem was how to get back to the packgrounds. Realistically there was no way for him to make it that far in his state, but if he could just get close enough, someone would hear him call or smell his blood. But he was bleeding a lot — or maybe that was the panic he was barely keeping at bay making him think that. Either way, he didn’t think there was a lot of time to waste, and the crawling maneuver he’d done earlier had been difficult and taken him a while. He couldn’t possibly do that through the woods._ _ _

____Might be easier in wolf-shape_ , he thought to himself as he got back onto his knees again. _Changing would be painful though and it might make the wound worse.__ _ _

___“Fuck!” Sehun cursed, grabbing fistfulls of grass, tearing them up with a cry of frustration. _Do I put pressure on the wounds? I can’t move if I’m doing that.__ _ _

___He felt so completely overwhelmed that his instincts took over, an anguished howl ripping from his throat. It wasn’t nearly as loud as it would’ve been in his wolf-shape. Even then, it was unlikely there was a wolf close enough to hear._ _ _

___Feeling lightheaded, Sehun struggled to maintain his balance, easily giving into the urge to sink back to the ground and lay there. He thought he heard a sound from the edge of the woods, but it was fifteen or so feet away and his vision was swimming. Sleepiness was overtaking him, and before he knew it his eyes were falling closed._ _ _

___🌼_ _ _

___Sehun opened his eyes slowly, sights before him blurry at first as he struggled to blink away the weird fog surrounding him. His entire body felt heavy and his mind couldn’t seem to make sense of things. He wanted to turn his head, move his limbs, but he felt like his brain wasn’t in connection with the rest of his body. He was confused, but not panicked as he laid there. He probably should’ve been — he had no idea what was going on or why his body felt weird. He couldn’t even remember what he’d been doing. He knew he was in the healer’s cabin though; he could tell because there were plants hanging from the ceiling._ _ _

___After a few minutes of laying there his body started feeling lighter and his mind clearer. It wasn’t too hard for him to remember things after that. He’d gone to the stream to bathe and hurt himself pretty badly on a rock. After that it was a blur of pain and fear. Considering where he was, he figured that, by some miracle, he’d been saved because he was sure he passed out. There was no way he made it back on his own._ _ _

___Once he felt fully awake he struggled into a sitting position, right leg throbbing dully as he attempted to move it. Judging by the way he woke up, Mrs. Zhang must’ve given him something for the pain and taken care of his wound. It didn’t seem like he was dying, so at least there was that._ _ _

___After Sehun was done taking stock of himself he turned his attention to the room. It hadn’t changed since the last time he’d been there as a pup. Maybe some of the plants were different but the furniture and the layout remained the same. He was planning on calling out to get someone’s attention when the cluster of yellow flowers sitting beside his bed caught his eye._ _ _

___“Tickseed?” Sehun wondered aloud, reaching out to take the vase into his hands. He brought it to his lap, wondering what the odds were that his favorite flower would be waiting beside him when he woke up. As far as he knew the only place around here that it grew was in the field and he doubted whoever had rescued him had stopped to pick some before coming back._ _ _

____Maybe Chanyeol_ , he settled on with a nod, placing the vase back on the table. He startled as he realized there was a figure in the doorway._ _ _

___“Didn’t mean to scare you,” Mrs. Zhang apologized with a kind smile, stepping into the room._ _ _

___“It’s okay,” Sehun replied, wincing at how rough his voice sounded. “You just didn’t make any noise and I couldn’t smell your scent.”_ _ _

___She nodded, coming to sit on the edge of the bed. “The smell of the plants and potions in this place tend to overwhelm things. How’re you feeling?”_ _ _

___He shrugged a little, wincing as he attempted to move his leg. “Better than I was feeling before. My leg feels sore, though.”_ _ _

___“That’ll be there for a while, unfortunately. The wounds weren’t exactly shallow, but they should heal up nicely. You’re going to have to take it easy; no wolf-shape and minimal movement for at least a month.”_ _ _

___Sehun bit his lip as he nodded, hoping he didn’t seem ungrateful. She’d said _at least_ a month though, which meant he’d be trapped on packgrounds indefinitely. No matter napping in the field or escaping the confines of the pack. If he was really unlucky he’d be trapped for the rest of summer._ _ _

___“On the bright side, that means you won’t have any shifts to worry about. Try not to be too down, okay.” She patted his arm. “You’ve been asleep for a while, it’s already afternoon of the day after you came in. Your parents have been to see you already, as well as Chanyeol and his mates. Junmyeon came by for a bit, too. You’re well loved, Sehun.”_ _ _

___Sehun nodded, grateful to be able to put most of the missing pieces together. “Chanyeol brough the flowers, then?”_ _ _

___“Hm?” Mrs. Zhang asked, following Sehun’s gaze. “Oh, those? No, those came from someone else. You’ll have to ask Yixing about them.”_ _ _

___ _

___“Yixing?” Sehun’s eyebrows raised._ _ _

___She smiled, patting him on the arm again before standing up. “I’m going to get you a glass of water, I’m sure you could use it by now.”_ _ _

___“Wait Mrs. Zhang!” Sehun called, a bit embarrassed by how desperate he sounded even to himself. She paused in the doorway, looking over her shoulder at him as she waited. “Who… Who brought me here?”_ _ _

___“Ah,I’ll just send him in with your water.” Then she left, not giving him a chance to respond._ _ _

___Sehun had no idea what to expect as he waited for his mystery savior to come in with his cup of water but seeing Yixing step through the door was pretty shocking. What were the odds of that? Then again, what even the odds of _anyone_ having been there at all?_ _ _

___“Hey,” Yixing greeted with a smile, handing over the cup of water. Sehun accepted it with a small smile of his own. “I’m really glad you're awake. I’m not going to lie, seeing you passed out in bloody clothes was terrifying.”_ _ _

___Sehun chuckled, setting the cup beside the vase on the table after he’d taken a few swallows. The water was cold and sort of hurt his throat. Now that he’d drank a little he felt like he could wait for it to reach warm temperature before drinking the rest._ _ _

___“It was pretty scary for me too. Thanks for, you know, coming to my rescue.” Then when he noticed that Yixing was hovering with seemingly no intention of sitting down he added; “You don’t have to stand.”_ _ _

___“Sorry, I feel sort of flustered. Last time I saw you I was panicking so much that my mom yelled at me to get out,” he laughed. Sehun could’ve sworn his dimpled cheeks were lightly dusted with pink as he retrieved the chair from the corner of the room and brought it to the bedside._ _ _

___“Guess if you were that worried it was as bad as it felt like it was. I’m really lucky you were there. Which, by the way, what were you doing out there?”_ _ _

___“Some of the flowers out there are medicinal,” he explained, waving his hand over towards the Tickseed. “I was going to look for something we were running low on, and as I was getting closer I smelt blood. I rushed the rest of the way and heard you howl, when I got there you were passed out.”_ _ _

___Sehun had a flashback to when he was laying on the ground and thought he’d heard something. “That was you? I thought there was something nearby but I couldn’t…” He trailed off, not wanting to think about it. “So you went there to get the Tickseed?”_ _ _

___“No, those are just pretty. After I knew you were okay I went back to collect what I’d been there for originally. I brought those back because Chanyeol said it would cheer you up.”_ _ _

___Sehun bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. It’s not as if Yixing had gone all the way back to get him flowers, he’d needed to go back anyway. But still, it was sweet of him to bring them back just because Chanyeol told him it’d make him happy._ _ _

___“They’re my favorite.” Yixing grinned at his response. “Could you tell me about the plants you went there for? If you’re not too busy, I mean. I’m curious if it’s something I’ve seen often — I spend a lot of time in the field.”_ _ _

___“You’re curious about herbalism?” Yixing asked, voice colored in surprise._ _ _

___“Sehunnie’s been wanting to apprentice under your mom since he was a pup,” Chanyeol’s loud voice interrupted from the doorway._ _ _

___“Really?” Yixing was asking, sounding more surprised than before, at the same time Sehun growled his best friend’s name._ _ _

___“What’s with you and telling people my secrets these days? You’re an asshole,” he grumbled as Chanyeol laughed, unaffected by his harsh tone._ _ _

___“Sometimes telling secrets is a best friend’s job. Anyway, sorry to interrupt but Mrs. Zhang says you’re good to go home so I figured me and the alphas would help you back.”_ _ _

___Yixing looked like he wanted to talk more but Sehun was grateful for the reason to leave. He _really_ didn’t want to talk with Yixing about his secret desire to become a healer. Yixing was nice, he’d only encourage him to follow his heart and Sehun didn’t have an excuse for why he couldn’t other than his heart being unable to take so much time with Yixing. Being friends was fine but working side by side, day in and day out, that sounded like more than he could handle while still working on getting over his feelings._ _ _

___“Don’t want to keep them waiting.” Sehun offered an apologetic shrug to Yixing for having their conversation cut short._ _ _

___“Don’t worry about it,” he replied good-naturedly, moving the chair back to where it belonged. “I’ll be by your place soon to check on your wounds so we can talk about plants again then. I’ll even bring one of our books for you.”_ _ _

___Yeah, it would definitely be too hard for him to let his feelings for the alpha go if he were to work beside him. Even the littlest things made his heart beat faster._ _ _

___“That would be great. Thanks, Yixing.”_ _ _

___🌼_ _ _

___Yixing came to Sehun’s cabin a few days later to check how he was healing. They made small talk as he checked the wounds, reapplying medicine and covering them with fresh wrappings. He even checked to make sure Sehun wasn’t overexerting his leg and was actually using the walking stick he’d been given._ _ _

___“You’re going to do well as Healer once your mom retires,” Sehun commented after Yixing finished giving his speal about taking care of himself properly._ _ _

___Yixing glanced up at him as he finished stowing away his things. “You think so? People say that to me but I’m never sure if they mean it or not.”_ _ _

___“Sounds like someone's full of himself,” Sehun snorted, carefully lifting his injured leg onto the couch so he could lean back against the armrest more comfortably._ _ _

___Yixing rolled his eyes and shoved Sehun’s shoulder, moving to sit on the low table in front of the couch. “You know that’s not what I meant.”_ _ _

___“I know,” Sehun echoed softly. “Most wolves probably would be though, in your position.”_ _ _

___He shook his head, running his fingers through his hair, making it stick up a little weird. Sehun thought it was cute so he didn’t say anything._ _ _

___“Hey, you okay?” He asked when Yixing hadn’t responded within the normal amount of time. He looked tired, bags under his eyes._ _ _

___“Yeah, sorry. I’ve just been kind of stressed out ever since…”_ _ _

___“Ever since what?” Yixing looked like he didn’t want to say anything more, and usually Sehun would’ve respected that but this time he was too worried about his friend’s health to let it go. “You tell me your secret, I’ll tell you one of mine.”_ _ _

___ _

___“What?” Yixing looked back up to meet Sehun’s eyes, laughter incredulous at the sudden proposition._ _ _

___Sehun shrugged. “Chanyeol and I used to do it as pups. Back when I was still shy and hadn’t opened up to him completely yet. Figured it was good in this situation, too.”_ _ _

___Yixing bit his lip, seeming to think it over before eventually nodding. He took a deep breath as if to prepare himself before he admitted his secret in a quiet voice. “Ever since you got hurt I’ve been feeling… I don’t even know, there’s so many emotions. Stress, panic, pressure. It’s suddenly like there’s not enough time in the day; I can’t sleep thinking about it.”_ _ _

___Hearing that made Sehun feel awful. A heavy weight settled in his chest and as much as he was able to swallow down words, apologies, that he wanted to say, it seemed like he wasn’t able to keep his feelings from showing on his face. Yixing’s expression shifted into one of remorse, hand reaching over to squeeze the knee of his uninjured leg reassuringly._ _ _

___“Shit, that wasn’t how I meant it. My thoughts are a mess, I’m really sorry Sehun,” he apologized, regretful gaze trained on Sehun’s face._ _ _

___Sehun tried to smile but he knew it came out looking tight, definitely awkward. “Don’t worry about it, I’m not that sensitive. I was just surprised.”_ _ _

___Yixing shook his head, squeezing his knee again as his eyes continued to plead for forgiveness. “No, really. That came out wrong. You have absolutely no reason to feel guilty, so I’m sorry if I made it sound otherwise. What I meant was that, when I saw you laying there, I panicked. I was really scared. So scared that I barely had enough sense to do proper emergency care before rushing you off to my mom. I’ve been training all these years but when you needed me, I could barely help you. I felt like I let you down, and I started feeling like the distance between me and my mom’s skill is so great that I’ll be unable to help anyone.”_ _ _

___Sehun reached over to put his hand over Yixing’s where it still rested on his knee. He looked him straight in the eye, wanting the alpha to understand how serious he was being. “You, Zhang Yixing, _saved my life_. Regardless of how panicked and scared you were, you _did_ perform emergency care. And you brought me to the person you knew could help me. I know you’ve been studying under your mom for years, but she’s been doing it for decades. And she’s not going anywhere anytime soon, so you have plenty of time to learn. You’ll get there, I know it.”_ _ _

___Yixing heaved a long sigh, not looking convinced despite Sehun’s conviction. “What if I don’t though?”_ _ _

___“Don’t think about it. You’ll set yourself up for failure if you let your fear consume you. What happened to me was scary; what you saw when you found me was scary. But it was the first time you’d ever seen anything like that right? Up until now you’ve been theoretically studying things, and treating minor wounds and ailments. I think your reactions were normal Yixing. I think you did well. Maybe I don’t know anything about medicine but I know things about you. You’re a hard worker and you care about people. The fact that you worry about this stuff at all proves you’ll be a great Healer.”_ _ _

___For a long while Yixing just stared at Sehun, neither of them saying anything. Normally it would’ve been uncomfortable, but given their heavy topic of conversation, it felt like they were communicating something without words._ _ _

___Eventually Yixing nodded, moving back away from Sehun’s space which he’d invaded when attempting to apologize for his poor wording. “I think you’d be a good Healer too, Sehun. You knew just what to say to calm me down.”_ _ _

___Sehun laughed quietly, looking away with a shake of his head. He didn’t want to talk about that. He’d actually been hoping Yixing would’ve forgotten about it, but that might’ve been too far-fetched of a thing to hope for._ _ _

___“It’s easier to talk down people you’re friends with. Anyway, if you’re still worried about it, maybe try asking your mom about stories from when she was learning. I’m sure she’s had a similar experience.”_ _ _

___Yixing looked at him in silence again, this time only from a second as he seemed to be trying to figure something out. Thankfully he went with Sehun’s change of topic and didn’t bring up what Chanyeol had said the other day. At least, he didn’t directly say anything about it._ _ _

___“I think I’ll take that advice. I should head back but, before I go, as promised,” he pulled a book from his bag. “I brought you this.”_ _ _

___Sehun took it, setting it down in his lap gently, running his fingers over the dark green cover. “Is it okay to leave this with me, though?”_ _ _

___“Yeah, it’s no problem at all. This is just some basics; my mom made me copy it down when I started learning, thought it’d be good for you to look through as an introduction. We don’t really need to reference it but if we did there’s still another copy at home so take as long as you’d like with it.”_ _ _

___Sehun tore his eyes away from the book to look back at Yixing, feeling touched at the thought he’d put behind it. “That’s really nice of you. I’ll read it carefully.”_ _ _

___Yixing’s resulting grin was heartstopping. “If you have any questions don’t be afraid to ask. Oh and, um, my mom doesn’t know, if you were worried about it. I’m better than Chanyeol at keeping secrets.”_ _ _

___“Thanks…” Sehun bit his lip, glancing over at the hallway leading to Mrs. Park’s workroom. “I don’t really know what I’m doing and I don’t want… I just think I should think it over on my own before getting anyone else involved.”_ _ _

___“Like I said, your secret’s safe with me,” he replied, shooting him another smile before calling goodbye to Mrs. Park and leaving the cabin._ _ _

___Later that night, Sehun sat on his bed, fingers sliding over the cover of the book Yixing had loaned him. He’d been longing to read it all day, but he hadn’t wanted to chance being seen with it by his parents. Part of him didn’t want to read it even if he was alone. He felt like it would only make him want to study under Yixing’s mom more than he already did, despite the fact that his heart knew he couldn’t._ _ _

___After a few more minutes of contemplating, Sehun opened the book. He didn’t plan on really reading it that night, he just wanted to flip through it a little. He immediately noticed that there were things stuck between the pages in multiple places. He went to one of them only to discover there was a flower pressed between the pages. It was white with a yellow center, something Sehun didn't know the name of but recognized as a flower that grew in the field._ _ _

___Wondering what would be between the pages in the next place, he quickly let the pages fall open in the next place, finding another flower, this time an orange poppy, pressed between the pages. After checking each place marked with something, Sehun discovered all of them were flowers that he’d seen growing in the field._ _ _

___Sehun felt an emotion blooming in his chest that he’d felt before when thinking of Yixing. Whether or not this was something that had been done for him, he didn’t know. But all the same, it was a happy surprise._ _ _

___As he went to put the book away somewhere safe, walking stick clutched in his right hand because he knew better than to disobey a healer no matter how nicely the wound was reportedly healing, he noticed a slip of paper sticking out from the bottom of the book. When he opened to where it was sticking out he saw it wasn’t part of the book at all, but instead a separate paper slipped between the pages._ _ _

___“Sehun,” he started reading quietly aloud. “I hope my handwriting isn’t too messy. Maybe I should’ve given you the one my mom wrote, but I wanted you to have mine. I told you to borrow this for as long as you’d like, but actually I’m giving it to you to keep. Whatever path you choose, I hope it brings you happiness. Yixing. P.S. mine is Cornflower (page 39).”_ _ _

___Sehun opened the book to the page written in the note, looking for the second time at the beautiful blue flower that Yixing had pressed between the pages. After a few minutes, he gently closed the book and put it away, blowing out his candle and heading to bed._ _ _

___🌼_ _ _

___The walk over to Kyungsoon, Jongin, and Chanyeol’s cabin was a slow, hobbling one. Sehun had gotten a lot better at maneuvering with the walking stick, but there was a pace he couldn’t exceed without straining his leg and that had been expressly forbidden, despite the fact that it had been a few weeks._ _ _

___On the walk Sehun had been telling Chanyeol, who was walking beside him and carrying the overnight bag he’d packed for their sleepover, how Mrs. Zhang had said he’d be okay to start walking around normally in another week or two. He was more than relieved, desperate to get away from the packgrounds, to see the flowers before the summer was over and the cold killed them for the season._ _ _

___The two omegas stepped into the cabin, carrying on a conversation of their own but still able to notice how the muffled voices they’d heard right before entering had cut off. There was a noticeable awkwardness in the air, both Kyungsoo and Jongin looking uncomfortable._ _ _

___“Look ‘Yeol, we interrupted their gossip,” Sehun said, tone flat and face expressionless._ _ _

___“It seems that way, doesn’t it,” Chanyeol joined in, eyebrows raised. Jongin glanced over at Kyungsoo as if asking what they should do, lip trapped between his teeth._ _ _

___“It was nothing, really…” Jongin offered hesitantly, getting up from the couch to wrap Chanyeol up in his arms and press a kiss to his cheek._ _ _

___“That’s some bullshit, Kim Jongin,” Chanyeol replied immediately, pulling away from his alphas arms, shoving Sehun’s bag at him as he did so. He sat down on the couch, pulling his legs up underneath him. “But if you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine.”_ _ _

___Sehun patted the alpha on the shoulder, hobbling over to sit beside Chanyeol, waving at Kyungsoo who was looking conflicted with his brows furrowed. Jongin just sort of looked like a scolded pup, which Sehun had to admit was pretty funny. Usually Chanyeol snarked at Kyungsoo and doted on Jongin, so he was probably not used to being on the receiving end very often._ _ _

___“Are you really mad?” Jongin asked, looking like he wanted to walk over to Chanyeol again but hesitating in fear of making him more annoyed._ _ _

___Sehun rolled his eyes, shoving Chanyeol’s shoulder. “Don’t be so dramatic, it’s probably just something about your sex life or something they don’t want to say in front of me.”_ _ _

___“Oh, is that what it is? You should’ve just said so,” he pouted, looking between the alphas. Jongin, horrible at keeping his feelings off his face, looked guilty._ _ _

___“Well…” He hesitated, glancing over at the silent Kyungsoo._ _ _

___“He’s an adult, and he’ll find out about it eventually so as his friends it’s better we tell him. Sehun,” Kyungsoo called for the omega’s attention. “Yixing went to Jongin’s workshop today and requested ornamental bedposts be made.”_ _ _

___To his left Chanyeol gaped while Jongin, who had moved to sit on the couch to Sehun’s right, looked uncomfortable. “...Bedposts?” Jongin nodded. Sehun nodded too. “Okay. See Chanyeol, it had nothing to do with them not wanting to tell you something.”_ _ _

___Chanyeol frowned at him. “Sehun… are you okay? You don’t have to brush it off like that, y’know.”_ _ _

___“I’m not really brushing it off. I mean, Yixing was never mine to begin with. We’ve only ever been friends so the fact that he’s courting a wolf shouldn’t make me upset.”_ _ _

___“Yeah but you guys have grown closer lately!” The other omega protested. “I thought for sure something was happening. Now suddenly he’s having _bedposts_ made? That’s not the kind of gift you give to open a courting with, it’s the kind you use to seal the deal!”_ _ _

___“We have gotten closer but I never thought it was as anything other than friends. I knew better than to get my hopes up.” He shrugged. Truthfully he was upset but at the same time it wasn’t something that unexpected. “He’d hinted at having a person he liked to me and Junmyeon one day so I’m not surprised. I didn’t know he was courting them already but the fact that he’s having bedposts made is good. I’m his friend so I’d like to support him.”_ _ _

___“Okay but —” Chanyeol was cut off by Kyungsoo._ _ _

___“We should respect Sehun’s feelings. He knows that if he wants to talk, or _not talk_ about it, we’ll be here.”_ _ _

___“But that day I swore that —”_ _ _

___“Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo’s voice had gotten firmer. “Can I talk to you alone for a second?”_ _ _

___Chanyeol looked over at Sehun for a minute, then over to Jongin, then back to Kyungsoo who was now standing, waiting for Chanyeol to get up and follow him. With a sigh and mumbled ‘fine’ the two of them retreated into the bedroom, leaving Sehun and Jongin alone for a few minutes._ _ _

___“We have the stuff to make your favorite for dinner,” Jongin offered, breaking the somewhat stilted silence. It felt like he was trying to apologize, which Sehun didn’t like. There was nothing for him to apologize for._ _ _

___“Because of Yixing or just because?” Sehun asked after a moment of silently studying the alpha._ _ _

___“Oh, no,” he laughed, scratching the back of his neck. “We were planning that before I saw Yixing today. It’s been a while since we hung out like this.”_ _ _

___Sehun relaxed upon hearing that, glad the entire night wouldn’t be some sort of pity party because of his unrequited love. He threw his arm around Jongin’s shoulders, side hugging him. “You know you guys are doing all the cooking, right? Healer’s orders, I’m not supposed to stand on my leg.”_ _ _

___“You walked over here on that leg, I’m sure you can do a little cooking,” Kyungsoo sniped as he and Chanyeol came back into the room._ _ _

___“I thought I was the guest of honor?” He attempted to pout at Kyungsoo but the alpha only raised an eyebrow at him as if to say ‘since when are you special’, so he gave up. “Fine, fine. But can I do the stuff that requires sitting down? Walking over here was kind of a lot.”_ _ _

___“I thought you were almost good to go,” Chanyeol worried, moving closer as if suddenly he was going to collapse in pain despite just sitting on the couch._ _ _

___“More or less, muscles still a little achy and tender. Mrs. Zhang said once I’m healed she’s going to give me some exercises to get me back to normal function.”_ _ _

___“You’re officially on mixing duty,” Jongin declared, ruffling Sehun’s hair and then dancing away as he was playfully snapped at._ _ _

___That night, as Sehun laid curled up with Chanyeol spooning him, Jongin on his other side, and Kyungsoo’s hand lightly tangled in his hair, he told himself that he’d be okay because he had his friends. He would hurt for a while, and seeing Yixing would be hard, but eventually… eventually things would be just fine._ _ _

___🌼_ _ _

___Sehun set his dinner down across from Junmyeon and Minseok, Yixing setting his own down to his left. Junmyeon and Minseok had shown up at Yixing's to ask him if he wanted to join them for dinner and Sehun had been there to get the final okay from Mrs. Zhang to stop using the walking stick, so the four of them had gone together._ _ _

___Sehun was in a good mood, glad to be one step closer to normal again after his accident. He was glad to be able to talk to Minseok too. He only knew of him, hadn’t ever had a real conversation with the other omega, and, since he was Junmyeon’s soon-to-be mate he hoped they could be closer. Junmyeon had become a close friend to him over the past few months, and he was grateful for that._ _ _

___“It took me forever but I was determined to make it myself. I fucked it up so many times though, I lost count of how many times I had to start over,” Minseok was saying as he made Junmyeon show off the bracelet he’d been given as a courting gift._ _ _

___“It looks really good though,” Yixing praised, mouth still full of potato. He swallowed before continuing; “I wish I’d gone that route, it feels more personal. I wanted to guarantee it’d look good, and I also didn’t want to wait as long as it would’ve taken for me to try learning myself.”_ _ _

___“You had _bed posts_ made though, ‘Xing. That’s not really something you can casually learn on your own. Having that commissioned is normal.” Junmyeon rolled his eyes._ _ _

___Minseok was nodding. “The tradition of doing that is more about signifying your devotion to your partner. The sentiment lies there, in my opinion. Plus you chose the carving to signify something, right? I think that makes it special enough. What do you think, Sehun?”_ _ _

___Sehun paused, lowering the bite of rice he was about to take back into his bowl. He’d been hoping to be left out of the conversation once Yixing had brought up his own courting gift. Damn Minseok for being so nice and trying to include him. He could see why Junmyeon loved him._ _ _

___“I agree with Minseok,” Sehun said after a short pause, glancing over a Yixing who was already looking right at him. He was careful to keep his face blank as he went on. “I think the intention and the sentiment behind the gifts are the important thing. It’s nice that Minseok worked hard to make his gift for Junmyeon but I don’t think going a different route is bad.”_ _ _

___“So… you think they’ll like it? I’ll be accepted?” Yixing still had his eyes trained on Sehun, but Junmyeon was the one that answered._ _ _

___“Well considering you refuse to tell us who this wolf is that’s stolen your heart, we can’t say for you.” It was clearly not the first time Junmyeon had complained about not knowing who Yixing was courting. “But I highly doubt you’ll be rejected. You’ve given the off gifts right? Like, you’re not just opening the courting with the ending? So you should already know.”_ _ _

___Yixing finally broke eye contact with Sehun, shrugging in Junmyeon's direction as he continued eating again. “They’ve been small gestures compared to what I guess is typical. And we’re… different than you and Minseok were.”_ _ _

___“Different how?” Minseok asked._ _ _

___“Subtler, I guess? It’s been a relatively private courting —you know I don’t like spreading my personal business around — he’s the same way. Plus we don’t really talk about it.”_ _ _

___“Wait, what does _that_ mean? You don’t talk about _what_?” Junmyeon asked incredulously._ _ _

___“Relax ‘Myeon, wolves will start looking if you’re too loud and Yixing just said he doesn’t want his business spread around,” Minseok warned quietly, touching his arm briefly._ _ _

___“Oops, sorry. I just got excited. I mean, when you said that it sounded like you meant you two don’t discuss your courting.”_ _ _

___“That is what I meant though,” Yixing responded, shrugging. “We’ve never had a sit down conversation about it or anything, but I feel like I’ve been making my intentions clear throughout the courting and he seems to have been reciprocating so I figured we’d figure it out as we go. We weren’t strangers or anything before now so I don’t think it’s weird. We have our own thing, it works for us.”_ _ _

___“That sounds nice, I’m happy for you Yixing.” Minseok’s smile was genuine as he said that, and Sehun couldn’t help but feel the same. His heart ached but at the same time it was full knowin Yixing had someone special._ _ _

___“They’re very lucky to have an alpha like you,” Sehun muttered quietly in agreement._ _ _

___Yixing bumped their sides together, waiting until Sehun looked up at him to respond, grinning. “I’m the one who’s lucky.”_ _ _

___“A toast,” Junmyeon suddenly said, raising his cup. “To happiness!” He shouted as the four of them bumped their cups together, definitely gaining the curious attention of the wolves around them._ _ _

___Sehun could toast to happiness. He had things that made him sad, but he had things that made him happy. For his friends who were soon-to-be mated, for his friends who loved and supported him, that was undoubtedly happiness._ _ _

___🌼_ _ _

___“Thanks for letting me come along, I know you were probably itching for some alone time after being cooped up for so long,” Yixing said as they walked through the forest on their way to the field. He’d brought his bag along, saying he wanted to collect some things for his mom._ _ _

___“I was definitely feeling a little stir crazy spending so much time at home. I’m just glad to be able to come back before the season changes.”_ _ _

___Yixing hummed in understanding, tilting his head up to see the sky wherever it was peaking through the canopy of leaves. “It’s about that time of year again, isn’t it? Are you looking forward to the summer festival?”_ _ _

___“Um, only kind of. It’s pretty tiring work-wise, and as much as I’m glad to be fully mobile again, that means I’m going to get heaped with work. I’m looking forward to the dancing though; that’s my favorite part.”_ _ _

___“I’ve never seen you dancing though. You just like watching?”_ _ _

___Sehun shook his head. “I only do it with Chanyeol usually. Last year I also danced with Kyungsoo and Jongin. The actual dance performances are fun to watch but… I’ve just never tried to learn myself.”_ _ _

___“Well it’s too late this year but next year we should learn it together. If we join the group we’ll have less work to do.” Yixing was grinning over a Sehun, completely serious in his suggestion._ _ _

___“Yeah, we should,” he agreed, turning to look back at the path._ _ _

___They spent the next few hours in the field, Yixing teaching Sehun the names of the flowers he didn’t know, showing him which had medicinal properties and which were just pretty to look at. They talked about Yixing’s training, and Sehun felt affection swelling in his chest about how Yixing respected what he’d said before about wanting to think about his path on his own, never once bringing up Sehun's desire to become a healer._ _ _

___Around sunset Sehun’s stomach had started audibly protesting but instead of suggesting they go back for dinner, Yixing surprised him by bringing out food he’d packed in his bag. He looked a little embarrassed as he admitted that he’d figured Sehun would want to stay as long as possible. Sehun wanted to kiss him. He didn't, of course. Yixing had someone he wanted to mate with. But the desire was strong as they sat together near the stream, watching the setting sun turn the sky shades of pinks and oranges, eating food Yixing had made specifically for this purpose. It was so romantic, if Sehun didn’t already know he had no chance and Yixing was just a nice guy, he would’ve thought they were on a date. The thought had him smiling a little sadly as he took another bite._ _ _

___By the time they’d finished eating and packed everything away in Yixing’s bag again, the sun had almost completely set. Sehun hated to admit it because it meant ending what he could consider the perfect day, but they were probably about to return._ _ _

___“We can stay for a while still if you want,” Yixing offered, seeming to sense the change in Sehun’s mood. “It’s not like we can’t see in the dark.”_ _ _

___“I don’t want to keep you out though…” He trailed off, wanting to stay but not wanting to ask it because Yixing had already spent the entire day basically doing nothing with him. If it were Chanyeol he was with today, he knew his friend would’ve been eager to return to his mates._ _ _

___“We should stay for a bit more. There’s… actually something I’ve been wanting to give you. I was trying to wait until the festival but I thought it was better to do it when it felt like the right moment. This feels like that moment so,” he stopped mid sentence as he dug around in his bag for a second, pulling out two items, one in each hand. “I’ve been carrying them around just in case.”_ _ _

___Sehun stared, unable to make sense of what he was seeing. Yixing was holding out a matching pair of bedposts, the kind you make two of as a mating gift, as a symbol of love and devotion. The very bedposts Jongin hadn’t wanted to tell him Yixing had requested. The very same bedposts Yixing had talked about to him, Junmyeon, and Minseok over dinner. The bedposts meant for his mate._ _ _

___“What…?” Sehun wasn’t able to pick one of the many thoughts swirling through his mind. He didn’t even know why he was looking at those bedposts. It was uncommon to show a mating gift to others before even presenting it to your mate._ _ _

___Yixing waved the one in his right hand closer, as if he wanted Sehun to take it. “I know they’re not painted but I thought it’d be nice to do that together.”_ _ _

___Sehun was still having trouble comprehending the situation. Yixing was saying he wanted to paint the bedposts with Sehun but that would be super weird unless…_ _ _

___Sehun finally reached out and took the one Yixing kept trying to offer him. He brought it up to eye level, scanning it, letting his fingers run over it. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, but he was touching it and it was _real_._ _ _

___“It’s beautiful,” Sehun finally said, breathed it out quietly like he’d lost his voice._ _ _

___Yixing’s expression couldn’t be described as anything other than a radiating happiness. “Jongin did a great job, right? Even came out here a couple of times to make sure he was carving them right. I tried to just bring them to him but he refused, saying he got a better sense for them if he went to them.”_ _ _

___There, carved into the wood thanks to Jongin’s hand, thanks to _Yixing’s_ request, were two flowers, stems intertwined as if they were growing as one. Even though they lacked color, Sehun could easily tell what they were. A Tickseed and a Cornflower. _ _ _

___“This is us,” Sehun once again spoke as if he had no air. He couldn’t believe any of this. He had to be misunderstanding but at that point it seemed impossible for it to be anything other than what he thought it was._ _ _

___Yixing was nodding, smile still in place as he watched Sehun seem to study every inch of the carving with both his eyes and fingertips. “I thought it suited us pretty well, considering everything. I’m not misinterpreting right? You’re staring like that because you like them?”_ _ _

___“Yixing, I…” Sehun swallowed, looking into Yixing eyes and feeling so many things at once. “You’ve been courting _me?_ All those things you said about your mate to Junmyeon and Minseok that night were about _me_ , not someone else?”_ _ _

___Now Yixing’s smile was fading, his eyes widened as he realized what Sehun was implying. “You didn’t know. All this time you didn’t know. Sehun, I… I thought that you knew! I — I gave you gifts and you accepted them and you gave me things back so I thought —”_ _ _

___“Wait what gifts are you talking about?” Yixing was obviously starting to panic but Sehun was so overwhelmed, he just wanted to know everything so he could be on the same page._ _ _

___“The Tickseed by your bedside after your accident. I’d gone there that day looking for you because Chanyeol said that’s where you usually went. And then after I brought you back… Chanyeol told me to stop freaking out and go get your favorite flower so I went back for it. And then I brought you the book of my notes with the flowers I’d pressed for you, left a note so you’d know it was a gift. You gave me a book back with instructions to make paint; that’s how I came up with the idea for us to paint them together —”_ _ _

___Yixing was pretty much babbling at that point, Sehun lost in thought as he recounted all his recent moments with the alpha. Thinking about it in retrospect, he could understand why Yixing didn’t know Sehun was oblivious to his feelings._ _ _

___“If — If you don’t want to accept them, I understand. It’s my fault for not being clear in the first place. I’m really sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable…”_ _ _

___“Yixing.” Sehun was looking at him, reaching out with his free hand to clasp Yixing’s own empty one. “I really didn’t know you were courting me. But I’m very happy to accept this gift.”_ _ _

___“You mean —”_ _ _

___Sehun laughed, tugging the alpha closer by the hand. “Let’s paint these so we can show them off at the summer festival.”_ _ _

___🌼_ _ _

___“What’re you still doing up?” Yixing’s sleepy voice startled Sehun, causing him to drop the bowl he’d been holding. It clattered onto the counter with a loud clack, making both of them wince._ _ _

___“Fuck ‘Xing, don’t scare me like that. And what're _you_ doing up? The moon’s been in the sky for hours.” He retrieved his bowl, brushing the ingredients that had spilled out back into it._ _ _

___“I’m up because the moon’s been in the sky for _hours_ and my mate’s not in bed with me. Seriously Sehunnie, why’re you out here in the middle of the night?”_ _ _

___Sehun looked away, hoping the flickering candlelight shadowed his face enough that his alpha wouldn’t see his blushing cheeks. “Your mom’s testing me in a couple days and I just want to make sure I’m ready. I started training later than is typical and I just want to prove that I’m capable and not just—” He waved his hand vaguely._ _ _

___“Oh, yeah. Just —” and he mimics Sehun’s gesture._ _ _

___Sehun growls playfully, smacking Yixing’s arm. “Shut up okay, I remember someone else feeling pretty similar, crying to me about not being good enough.”_ _ _

___“I never cried,” he protested, but he was smiling as he stepped forward to wrap Sehun up in his arms. “I remember a certain someone gave me really good advice, though. So do you know what I’m going to say to you?”_ _ _

___“Nope, no idea,” he feigned ignorance._ _ _

___Yixing stretched so that he could press his lips to the omegas ear, whispering softly, “I believe in you.” When he pulled away to look at Sehun’s face he couldn’t help but grin. He was blushing. “Now are you going to come to bed?”_ _ _

___Sehun nodded, not bothering to clean up anything and instead opting to blow out the candles and follow Yixing back to their bedroom. He must have lit the candles before he’d gone to bring him back to bed, the flicking flames casting shadows across the walls._ _ _

___As is Sehun’s routine, as he walked past the bedpost Yixing had gifted him as a mating present, he let his fingers slide across the wooden flower petals. The colors were vibrant in Sehun’s eyes regardless of how poor the lightning a few nearby candles were._ _ _

___From where Yixing was already laying in bed he complained, “Blow out the candles and come to bed already, I’m tired.”_ _ _

___Sehun rolled his eyes, extinguishing the flames and he got under the covers beside his mate. “You could’ve just not bothered with them in the first place. All you were doing was coming to bring me to bed, you can see in the dark well enough for that without candles.”_ _ _

___“See if I try doing a nice thing for you ever again,” Yixing snarked back and Sehun had to bite his lip to keep in his laugh. Since they mated his alpha has shown him all his wonderful sides, and his not so wonderful ones, allowing Sehun to feel safe in doing the same. This side, the teasing, snarky side that comes alive when Sehun’s being snarky, this is one of his wonderful sides._ _ _

___Sehun scooched over to throw his arm around Yixing’s waist, one of his legs sliding between the alphas as he clung to him. Rubbing his face into the alpha’s neck, relishing in the way he could smell his oranges combining with his mate’s honey, he couldn’t be happier._ _ _

___“I love you,” he whispered into the alpha’s skin. He felt Yixing’s arms come up to wrap around his body, pulling him closer despite how tightly they were already pressed together._ _ _

___“I love you too,” he mumbled, already sounding sleepy again as his hand lazily carded through Sehun’s hair._ _ _

___Not long after that Yixing’s hand stopped moving through his hair, breathing evening out to signal he’d fallen asleep again. Sehun laid awake on Yixing's chest for a while after that, calmed by the sound of his mate’s heartbeat. His hand had drifted down to the alpha’s hip, fingers tracing the mark of his teeth forever imprinted into his skin. Last year he would’ve never thought he’d be where he was that night, laying in bed with none other than his unrequited love Zhang Yixing, feeling the mating bite he’d given the alpha in such an intimate place._ _ _

___“I don’t know if it’s true or not but, if the moon really does make things happen, thank you,” he whispered, careful not to disturb Yixing’s sleep._ _ _

___Of course he got no answer, but somehow the sound of the crickets chirping outside and the leaves rustling in the wind made him feel as if something had been listening. That night Sehun fell asleep with a small smile on his face, feeling more peace than he’d felt even on those warm days he spent napping amongst the grass and flowers._ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> I have a twitter now! find me @afoxxlight


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